Croft, Fonseca and Taylor’s Port declare 2016 vintage

The three historic Port houses belonging to The Fladgate Partnership - Croft, Fonseca and Taylor’s - have each declared 2016 to be a classic vintage year.

The announcement follows those from Symington Family Estates and the Gonzalez Byass GB-imported Quinta do Noval earlier this month, building anticipation that Taylor’s and Croft would follow suit.

According to custom, all three houses made their declaration today, April 23, St George’s day, pointing to the historic link between England and Port producers.

The Fladgate Partnership’s managing director, Adrian Bridge, said allocations will be tight due to below average yields.

As a result, the 2016s are “likely to become rarities in future, particularly given the trend towards enjoying Vintage Ports young”, he said.

According to technical director and head winemaker, David Guimaraens, two factors contributed to in 2016 the vintage’s quality: “Heavy rainfall in spring meant that the vines had plenty of water throughout the summer. Secondly, the ripening season started relatively late and lasted well into September. This led to very gradual and even ripening of the crop with all elements in perfect balance at the time of the harvest. Picking started later than usual on all of our houses’ estates, particularly those located in the Pinhão Valley.”

The 2016 Vintage Ports from Croft, Fonseca and Taylor’s will be shipped later in the year and should be available in most markets by the autumn.